Geophysical survey based on hybrid gravimetry using relative measurements and an atomic gravimeter as an absolute reference

• Main Authors: Shettell, Nathan, Lee, Kai Sheng, Oon, Fong En, Maksimova, Elizaveta, Hufnagel, Christoph, Wei, Shengji, Dumke, Rainer
• Other Authors: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Earth and Environmental Sciences; Gravimetry; Gravity
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174928
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Gravimetry is a versatile metrological approach in geophysics to accurately map subterranean mass and density anomalies. There is a broad diversification regarding the working principle of gravimeters, wherein atomic gravimeters are one of the most technologically progressive class of gravimeters which can monitor gravity at an absolute scale with a high-repetition without exhibiting drift. Despite the apparent utility for geophysical surveys, atomic gravimeters are (currently) laboratory-bound devices due to the vexatious task of transportation. Here, we demonstrated the utility of an atomic gravimeter on-site during a gravity survey, where the issue of immobility was circumvented with a relative spring gravimeter. The atomic gravimeter served as a means to map the relative data from the spring gravimeter to an absolute measurement with an effective precision of 7.7 μ Gal. Absolute measurements provide a robust and feasible method to define and control gravity data taken at different sites, or a later date, which is critical to analyze underground geological units, in particular when it is combined with other geophysical approaches.